Chapter 3
A mermaid’s body temperature is slightly lower than a human’s.
Cool.
That was Wen Ming’s first impression.
Number 55’s hands were covered in water droplets, a damp coolness enveloping Wen Ming’s retreating fingers.
The optical brain shielded Wen Ming from the falling rain, but another kind of “rain” fell from the hand he touched.
One drop, two drops…
An extremely faint soothing ability, like gentle rain, light and soft.
No stinging, no torment, completely overturning Wen Ming’s understanding of soothing until now.
His fingertips trembled slightly as he returned Number 55’s grip.
The fishmonger broke the silence: “I know this one’s soothing ability is poor, but considering the cheap price, I urge you to reconsider…”
As the fishmonger’s voice gradually lowered, Wen Ming released the mermaid’s hand.
The fishmonger looked helplessly at the sky: Unsold… Should I lower it to 90 star coins?
“Little Mermaid.” Wen Ming’s tone suddenly became serious.
He crouched down, looking directly at Number 55: “Would you like to come home with me?”
Number 55 gripped the edge of the tank with both hands, only the upper half of its face visible as it met his gaze, its expression hesitant.
This human in front of it was the most unique one Number 55 had ever seen—
The trunk of his mental seascape tree was thicker than any other human’s, but it was a broken tree…
The trunk had fallen to the ground, almost completely severed, with only a sliver of bark connecting it to the stump, unable to transport nutrients to the branches and leaves.
The water droplets released by Number 55’s soothing were completely absorbed by the withered leaves as soon as they landed, a mere drop in the bucket.
With only a low-grade mermaid’s weak soothing ability, this tree had no chance of regaining its vitality.
Number 55 couldn’t heal him…
“Customer, are you expecting the mermaid to answer you?” The fishmonger chuckled. “Buy it or don’t buy it, it’s fine!”
Between the lines was the mocking implication of “If you’re poor, don’t waste my time.”
Hearing this, Number 55 nervously gripped the tank wall.
Suddenly, it flicked its tail and dug under one of its scales…
“?”
Under the puzzled gazes of the others, Number 55 pulled out a metal piece hidden under its scales and offered it to Wen Ming.
A round metal piece with a trademark printed on the edge.
Wen Ming recognized it at a glance: It was a part that had fallen off Qi Xuan’s external optical brain.
“Why does it have something like this on it?” The fishmonger laughed even louder. “Don’t tell me it thinks this is some kind of treasure!”
Treasure…
Wen Ming suddenly understood: The mermaid probably thought this metal piece was star currency.
The little mermaid, all alone and left with a vendor, was willing to give him the only “treasure” it had.
Wen Ming felt a sense of healing that was even more soothing than having his mental seascape soothed…
Number 55 stretched out its arm with effort, placing the “star coin” in Wen Ming’s palm, its eyes sparkling:
Is this enough to buy me?
You’re the new master the rain sent me. Take me home!
“I’ll buy it with this.”
Wen Ming said, but he didn’t make any move to give the metal piece to the fishmonger.
The fishmonger’s eyebrows shot up in annoyance: “Are you kidding me…”
“Ding!” A real-time notification on his personal optical brain, audible only to the fishmonger: “‘Wen Ming’ has transferred 10,000 star coins to your account.”
Who?
Wen Ming? Admiral Wen!?
The fishmonger was struck dumb, his jaw almost hitting the ground.
Wen Ming exited the transfer interface on his optical brain and switched to his home intelligent butler, sending the command “Clean the mermaid room.”
“Expedite the adoption procedures and give the mermaid a full medical examination.” He glanced sideways. “Is that enough money?”
“More than enough!”
The customer watching from the side: That broken piece of metal is enough…?
Number 55: OvO
Great, the star coin I picked up is quite valuable!
With the power of money in place, everything went smoothly.
Number 55 rolled around in the medical examination tank, and when it came out, it was already on its new master’s airship.
Two Mermaid Center staff members were responsible for transporting it. They chatted while piloting the airship:
“Did you hear? There was a major accident at the high-grade mermaid exhibition.”
“I know. The Mermaid Center suffered huge property losses, and the nobles’ expensive clothes were all soaked. The culprit will have to pay!”
“!”
Number 55 nervously approached the ventilation opening of the mermaid cage, listening to their conversation.
It seemed to have been the one who broke that piece of glass…
Its new master’s already modest finances, in danger!
“Haha, I’ve always disliked Qi Xuan’s flamboyant style. After causing this trouble, the Qi Corporation’s official website announced that he’s been disqualified from managing the fish food project. Serves him right!”
“The Qi Corporation has been developing rapidly recently. They might even shake the Wen Corporation’s monopoly on mermaid supplies…”
Hearing that it wasn’t the one who “broke” the glass, Number 55’s tense tail relaxed, and it let out a long sigh of relief.
“Forget it, these aren’t things a worker earning 3,000 star coins a month should worry about.”
They changed the subject: “Remember XX from the next department? He was diagnosed with depression!”
“Sigh, XX always had a lifeless look in his eyes. Too much financial pressure at home.”
“Yeah, if a few tens of thousands of star coins suddenly appeared in his account, he could take a breather…”
Depression?
Number 55 thought of Wen Ming’s listless expression and pressed its stomach:
It seems my new master is really poor.
It’s okay, I can eat less!
…
Upon arrival, the two staff members became cautious.
They explained the precautions for raising a mermaid to Wen Ming, their attitude respectful and apprehensive:
“The mermaid’s medical report has been sent to your optical brain.
Please be careful of the mermaid’s teeth, which can be aggressive. It’s best not to make close contact before you’re familiar with it. For example, when transferring it from the mermaid cage to the mermaid pool, you should use your mental seascape to suppress…”
The staff member quickly glanced at Wen Ming, paused, and changed his words: “Which room is the mermaid room? We’ll help transfer the mermaid.”
Wen Ming didn’t refuse and led them to the mermaid room.
The mermaid pool had already been cleaned, spacious but devoid of any decoration, cold and empty.
“So, we’ll begin the transfer now. We’ll be using our mental seascapes during the process, so please be careful of water splashing on you.”
Number 55 inside the cage began to fidget uneasily…
The feeling of being suppressed by a human’s mental seascape was quite unpleasant.
An invisible force restrained its body, making it unable to move.
Just hearing the words “mental seascape,” Number 55 instinctively let out a warning growl.
“Please step back. A mermaid in this state may attack at any time.” The staff member warned Wen Ming.
When they touched the cage latch, the mermaid inside thrashed even more violently, and the cage shook vigorously.
The two staff members exchanged glances, highly alert, preparing to activate their mental seascapes together:
“Three, two…”
“Whimper!” Number 55 squeezed its eyes shut, resigned to the impending pain.
“I’ll do it.”
Wen Ming interrupted their countdown and stepped forward to open the cage latch.
The staff member’s heart leaped into their throat, and they blurted out: “Don’t! Your mental seascape is damaged, it’s easy for a mermaid to…”
The moment the cage was opened, Wen Ming grabbed Number 55’s wrist with one hand and skillfully transferred the mermaid into the pool without hurting it.
Number 55, upon touching the water, flicked its tail and quickly swam away from the edge.
It swam beyond the reach of their mental seascapes, diving underwater, peeking at Wen Ming through the ripples:
My new master with the damaged mental seascape is so gentle…
Everything happened in a matter of seconds. The staff member’s words of dissuasion circled in their mouth before they stammered:
“It’s, it’s fine.”
Such terrifying physical skills!
The Admiral’s mental seascape might be damaged, but his movements were as sharp as they were on the battlefield.
The staff members carefully glanced at Wen Ming’s clothes, seeing that he hadn’t been splashed with a single drop of water despite his actions, and felt even more admiration:
“Then we won’t disturb you. Mermaids have poor adaptability and can be quite restless in a new environment. If you have any needs or questions, please contact the Mermaid Center at any time.”
Wen Ming walked out of the mermaid room with them.
When the surroundings became quiet, Number 55 surfaced, observing its new home:
The mermaid room had a large window covered by thick, light gray curtains.
Apart from the light blue tiles of the mermaid pool, the rest of the room was decorated in shades of black, white, and gray.
The decor was minimalist, with fewer furnishings than the laboratory Number 55 had previously stayed in.
In Number 55’s limited vocabulary, there was one word that perfectly described its new home—
Bare.
It was tired of the word “poor”…
“Rustle.”
A faint rustling of plastic came from outside the door. Number 55’s tail undulated, and it quickly swam to the edge of the pool, its nose twitching, sniffing.
This was the sound it had been most anticipating—the fish food bag!
Wen Ming walked in carrying the fish food, his eyes immediately falling on the little mermaid gulping.
“Wait a moment before eating.” He soothed, placing the bag beside him.
He had to confirm the medical report first and make sure the little mermaid didn’t have any special allergies before feeding it.
He opened his optical brain. The medical report finished loading, and a series of red text, all abnormal indicators, popped up first:
-
An undersized adult mermaid, physically weak, avoid excessive soothing.
-
Mild malnutrition, reduce feeding amount as it cannot currently digest a normal portion of fish food.
-
Tail burns with scale loss, the Mermaid Center will prepare a medicated ointment and mail it to you as soon as possible.
…
The more he read, the tighter Wen Ming’s brow became.
The fishmonger had said the little mermaid’s tail injury was pre-existing from its rescue, but the medical report indicated “burns” treatable with ointment.
What had it been through before?
“…”
Number 55 stared longingly at the fish food bag.
Its new master’s expression was so serious, could it be that their household finances couldn’t handle this meal?
It was starving and whimpered anxiously.
Wen Ming pressed his temples, turned off his optical brain, tore open the fish food bag, and suddenly froze.
He hadn’t prepared a mermaid bowl…
He had never raised a mermaid before and was using the mermaid pool for the first time today.
The monopolist of mermaid supplies himself didn’t actually own a single mermaid item at home.
Even this bag of fish food had been purchased in a hurry after he decided to adopt the little mermaid.
Wen Ming put down the fish food, preparing to rush order a mermaid bowl.
“Awoo!” Number 55’s eyes glowed green with hunger. It wedged its waist against the edge of the pool, its upper body suspended in the air, reaching out to gently poke Wen Ming with its fingertips.
Wen Ming sighed softly.
He scooped a handful of food into his palm, his other hand gently supporting Number 55 to prevent it from falling: “Eat.”
The little mermaid ate just as ravenously as it had in the aquarium.
When the Mermaid Center recommended mermaids to nobles, there were usually a few criteria: first, soothing ability, and second, “manners.”
Manners included whether they ate at a moderate pace, maintained cleanliness, and whether they were possessive of their food.
Number 55 would undoubtedly receive a very low score from the Mermaid Center.
But Wen Ming’s current focus had nothing to do with those criteria—
The little mermaid wouldn’t hurt him.
A mermaid’s teeth are more dangerous than its claws, and Wen Ming had been wary while hand-feeding it.
While Number 55 opened its mouth wide to bite the fish food for the first few bites, as it got closer to Wen Ming’s hand, it switched to licking the food with its tongue.
Even though it ate quickly, scattered food everywhere, and growled protectively over its food, its teeth and claws never touched Wen Ming’s skin.
It knew better than any human where its “danger” lay…
After the little mermaid finished eating, Wen Ming scooped up some more and fed it.
Number 55 had never tasted such delicious food. After finishing, it immediately looked up at Wen Ming expectantly.
Its pupils shone like glass, the tip of its tail lifted in anticipation as it “awooed,” indicating it wasn’t full yet.
Different priced fish foods have different ingredient ratios, and the one Wen Ming was feeding it was highly nutritious.
This was too much for a slightly malnourished little mermaid.
Wen Ming resisted the little mermaid’s “coaxing” and sealed the fish food bag:
“That’s all for today.”
The tip of its tail, which had been sticking out of the water, drooped dejectedly back into the pool.
Number 55 tugged on Wen Ming’s hand, licking his palm longingly, savoring the taste of the remaining fish food crumbs.
It was only half full, but it was a sensible mermaid. With their home so poor, it couldn’t bring itself to ask for more even if it wasn’t enough.
Number 55’s eyes were filled with the resolve to share the joys and sorrows:
Master, it’s okay if I’m a little hungry, we can’t let our family suffer!
Wen Ming: ?
